Kaigansa

"Angel."

Artie felt chills ran up and down her spine as she stared into the eyes of the woman. She grabbed the woman's wrist and tried to pull away from the woman's hold, but a gray lizard tail rushed from inside the woman's rustic beige dress and wrapped around Artie's waist. She then gasped out loud in panic.

However, Artie had some kind of assurance. The System wasn't prompting her with anything. Back when she was in trouble, Heaven's Creation would blast her with notifications to help her survive the encounter. Be it her getting assassinated all of a sudden or when she was hurt during the Authority Conquest tutorial.

Right now though, there was nothing. The System was silent, and so she should be safe, right?

"How dare you set foot in Ellis Plains after your race's betrayal to these people?!" The lizard spoke again, and Artie couldn't even answer her with nothing else but scared noises. "You even think you can just waltz into the castle and feed on Larkin?! How preposterous! You… will die."

[You have unlocked a new page in Miel's Nobility Cheat Sheet!]

[Madame Alfora! Age: 8100 moons; Race: Demon; Place of Origin: Prima Insedia (Tetroka); Affiliation/s: Albas (brother)]

[The ever-hostile seamstress of Ellis Plains' ducal palace. She woke up to her brother outside the borders of Tetroka, and so she traveled far and wide to look for him. Falling in love with the idea of dressmaking, Madame Alfora dropped her military status in the Tetrokan army to learn the craftsmanship of the humans.]

'This the Emperor's sister?! She's even a demon! Not helpful! Not helpful!' Artie's eyes continued to quiver in fear as she tried to pull Alfora's hand off of her and the tail around her waist. Gasping noises were all she could make as she felt the need to jump out of danger. 'Am I going to die, System?! What should I do?!'

[Would you like to activate Authority Conquest?]

'What?! I'm fighting her?! Will I even win?!'

"You're very different from the ones sent here from time to time. Are you not a warrior?" Alfora hummed in confusion before letting go of Artie, the maiden falling onto the floor in her desperation. However, the tail whipped at the floor before Artie as if warning her not to escape. "No, no, Larkin must have spotted you beforehand. If he was willing to take you in, the boy must have reasons..."

Alfora recalled the tail and even the features she had for a demon. She then walked towards Artie who slowly got to her feet, eyes now glaring as if warning her. "What's with those eyes coming from a weakling? Do you not fear me, angel?" Alfora lifted her chin and stared down at the woman before her. "Such grace-less creature..."

She then turned away, picking up the measuring stick she dropped on the floor earlier. "Larkin did not expose you, and so I must adhere to his wish. The maids had gone away so I must introduce myself on my own, yes? I am called Alfora of Prima Insedia. I enjoy making dresses, especially if not an abomination would wear it.

"Speak of your name, angel."

"...my name is Artie Shen." Artie could only say so… because that was only what she knew. She couldn't make up places, and she did not know where Heaven really was. If she said something ridiculous, wouldn't that be akin to getting herself killed in the hands of this lizard lady?

"Artie Shen? No wonder you stand out too well." Alfora hummed. "Your name sounds like you have come from Kaigansa, a very strange and exotic continent to the southwest of Galacia. None of these people question your cultural anomaly as they could only regard it as your faraway lands' customs. Mhm, so shall be it. Let's keep it that way. Would you like to see sketches of Kaigansan dresses, Lady Shen?"

Blink. "You're not planning to kill me anymore?"

Alfora placed a hand on her chest and gasped in displeasure and offense. "How repulsive! Why would I taint my hands with the blood of an angel? Of the new archduchess no less?" She even huffed as she moved to a corner, taking out her book of sketches. "The previous thing was a lot more horrendous than you, and yet we were not advised to slay it. As for you, Larkin protects you. I must abide.

"Here, here, we must build you a fraud identity. The royal house would be attending even if Larkin attempted to kick them out. We must ensure that the Achlysian royalty will not make fun of themselves."

"Okay, I'm Kaigansan now, I guess..." Artie ran a palm over her hair before cautiously approaching the seamstress. 'System, if I were a page in the Cheat Sheet, how would you introduce me? Just so I could have an inkling of what to say to people if ever...'

[Generating request...]

'What?' Artie frowned inwardly as it was the first time the System had to make her wait for an answer. Then again, it was probably something that the System was not ready to show. Besides, no one had ever told her that she seemed to be Kaigansan in terms of her name.

[You have created a new page on Miel's Nobility Cheat Sheet!]

[Artie Shen! Age: 25 years; Race: Demi-human; Place of Origin: Mizuna (Kaigansa); Affiliation/s: Larkin Ellis (husband), Miel Ellis (step-son), Clarissa Wessel (unacknowledged), Marissa Princesley (unacknowledged)]

[The multifaceted second wife of the archduke of Ellis Plains. She fell into the arms of the archduke with no inkling of her life before so. Disguised as a woman chosen by the archduke, she married into the Ellis family without clear origins. Gentle yet determined, fretful yet adventurous, the second wife would ride into battle if her husband gets into trouble.]

Artie giggled inwardly. The description didn't seem to give her quite a shady character; neither was it intriguing enough. It was perfect for someone who was trying to conceal her own nature. It's just that…

[Warning: visage anomaly! You have falsified your Proof of Identity! An angel would never resort to illegal means, but one's survivability is at stake. This record of existence will infringe on your immortal nature. Your Mortality increased by 50 points!]

[Your reserved parameter points exceed the increment. Would you like to use your points to null the increment?]

'You should have told me this costs something...' Artie growled inwardly as she lamented using her points in something she hadn't even seen yet. She could only use the points to make sure she wouldn't die before she completed her first task. The risk was great now that someone actually tried to assassinate her.

[Your character parameters are sealed and cannot be viewed! Complete the first active task to unlock character parameters!]

'The nerve!'

Artie only sighed discreetly as she followed Alfora's directions. They both sat down on the floor as Alfora spread her huge, thick book and even the unfolded pages that were papers seamed together to make a bigger picture. The disappointment in Artie Shen's eyes quickly dissipated as soon as Alfora turned the pages to the Kaigansan dress sketches… as if she had found an arsenal of the grandest of weapons.

'Kaigansa… is East Asia?!'